The role of municipal governments in the process of national development

Abstract

The significant role of local governments in the process of national development, both in developing and in developed countries, has been increasingly recognized. As political systems, local governments generate output that can be relevant not only in terms of their immediate value to the community, but as indispensable inputs to the higher level political systems and also to the economic system. An effective participation of local governments in the national development process cannot dispense with meeting some basic requirements such as a correct allocation of functions, the availability of adequate financial resources and the institutional and organizational capability of local governments. These two last items involve local autonomy, adequate organizational arrangements and operational methods, the existence of a career and merit system, constructive intergovernmental relations and mechanisms of public accountability as a counterpart to decentralization and local autonomy. Such requirements are indeed found in those countries where local governments are an important component of the governmental system.